I've got a critical red warning for the steering wheel lock. I'm probably looking at several hundred dollars of repair. My car was produced in 3/2007. By 6/2007 mini deleted the steering wheel lock entirely from the car. Apparently this is a known problem.

The real question I have is how should I go about trying to get Mini to spill for part of the bill. My car is out of warranty (9 months now) with still on 40,000 miles on it. Seems like with a known problem such as this (bimmer forums are full of it) that I'd be able to argue my case. Do I call miniusa ahead of time, wait till I get to the dealer and see if the dealer will help or what? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Start with the service manager at your dealership. Tell him you want a goodwill repair, due to the fact that this is a known condition (and I'm familiar with it from the BMW side too). That might be all it takes. If they can't go to bat for you and get it done, then reach out to Mini USA. Good luck!

 

Why not just remove the steering wheel lock and forget about it?

 

i dont get it...maybe im a tool...but whats the steering wheel lock problem?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nctioning.html

 

I have the same issue. Tested battery - it was good. Attempted the ECU reset by disconnecting the cables and taping them together for a couple hours - no success. Wondering if you found any resolution with the dealer.

 

Yes, it is a known problem, and was even more of a problem on BMW models.

However, just to clarify, that wasn't the reason the steering wheel lock was deleted in 2007. From the 1960's until 2007, U.S. federal regulations required a steering wheel lock in all new cars, for anti-theft reasons. The steering lock requirement was removed in 2007 and BMW immediately deleted it across their entire line, including MINI.